Montreal
Saint Denis Street is also the heart of the Latin Quarter of Montreal (Quartier latin), just south of the Plateau, and filled with clubs, bars, and street festivals. The principal east-west axes of this district are Saint Catherine Street and Boulevard de Maisonneuve, with Saint Denis Street as its north-south axis. The mood is bohemian. Crescent Street is "party central" for Montreal's Anglophone population, lying at the edge of the Concordia University campus. Throughout the summer, it features street fairs and festivals. The Formula 1 Canadian Grand Prix unofficially starts off Montreal's non-stop festival season in the summer. Crescent Street also features many clubs and bars. The clientele of Crescent nightclubs and bars are mostly students, tourists and in general a younger crowd looking for exhilaration and excitement. Most venues will play Top 40, rap and hip hop music. The nearest subway stops are Peel and Guy-Concordia. Boulevard Saint-Laurent (Saint Lawrence Boulevard, known locally as "The Main") is one of the best places to find nightlife, with many bars and nightclubs and a wide range of restaurants. Saint-Laurent street night spots are often less mainstream than those on Crescent street, with a great variety; from Top 40 and urban music to electronica and techno, from underground and alternative rock to live bands. South of Prince Arthur Street, towards Sherbrooke Street, one is likely to encounter a "posher" clientele. From Prince Arthur Street north (to Mount Royal avenue & beyond), one should expect to rub shoulders with an "edgier" crowd. The nearest subway stop is Saint-Laurent. Another notable night life spot is Ste-Catherine Street between St-Hubert and Papineau, where many gay night clubs are concentrated. Go to http://www.MontrealisGay.com MontrealisGay.com for an easy to use listing of Gay Montreal. Montreal's bustling nightlife is enabled in part by its relatively late "last call" (3 a.m.), and the many restaurants and fast food joints that are open late into the night. Some bars and nightclubs charge a cover charge varying from 5 to 15$ CAD. You are expected to tip 1$ per drink. Popular late-night fare includes 99-cent pizza slices, Lebanese-style falafel sandwiches, shish taouk, and the local favourite, poutine. Montreal nightlife is also rated fourth in the world at www.askmen.com for its after-hours (3 to 11 a.m.). Stereo, Aria and Circus are amongst the most notable after-hours; Stereo boasts one of the best sound systems in the world. One can often see world-famous deejays such as Tiësto, Deep Dish and Armin van Buuren featured in Montreal's clubs and after-hours. Montreal is known in some circles as the strip club capital of Canada. The city has over 30 male and female strip clubs in the downtown area alone. Strip clubs in Montreal are unique in that the majority offer full-contact lap dances. Full-contact lap dances have been legal in the province of Quebec as of 2001. Strip clubs in Montreal are either categorized as full-contact or non-contact. Strip clubs in Montreal operate differently from U.S. strip clubs. In Montreal exotic dancers are mostly independent workers, not house dancers. Dancers are thus free to work at a variety of strip clubs, and often do. Unlike U.S. exotic dancers, those working in Montreal retain all of the revenues from their performances; gratuity is not expected.